1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to nebulizers, and more particularly to devices and methods for maintaining the cleanliness of nebulizers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional nebulizers nebulize a drug solution by transmitting acoustic waves from an acoustic wave generator to the drug solution. Some of these devices transmit the acoustic waves from the acoustic wave generator to the drug solution through an acoustic wave transmitting medium. Typically, the acoustic wave generator (e.g., a piezoelectric transducer) is sealed from the transmitting medium by a protective coating (e.g., epoxy coating) to prevent the transmitting medium from corroding the metallic components of the transducer. These nebulizing devices provide a barrier between the acoustic wave transmitting medium and the drug solution chamber. The barrier seals the drug solution from fluid communication with the transmitting medium, and also allows the acoustic waves from the acoustic wave generator to pass through the transmitting medium and into the drug solution.
The transmitting medium typically includes a bactericide to discourage bacteria growth within the transmitting medium. One potential drawback to this configuration is that it introduces an additional chemical into the nebulizer which may prove to be undesirable in some applications.